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Open the post’s three-dot options menu and choose the action you need: Edit post to correct it, Hide from profile to remove it from your profile only, Move to Archive to keep it private, or Move to Trash to remove it with a limited recovery window. Facebook may call Trash the Recycle bin depending on your region, device, or interface version.
| What you want to do | Choose | Can you undo it? |
|---|---|---|
| Fix wording, tags, or supported media | Edit post | Yes, edit it again |
| Remove it from your profile but leave it elsewhere on Facebook | Hide from profile | Usually, by unhiding it |
| Keep it privately for later | Archive | Yes |
| Remove it but keep a short recovery option | Trash or Recycle bin | Yes, normally for 30 days |
| Erase it permanently | Permanent deletion | No through Facebook’s normal recovery process |
The instructions below primarily cover posts on a personal profile. Facebook Pages and groups have different permissions and menus.
How to edit a Facebook post
You can edit posts that you shared yourself, but you cannot edit another person’s post. Facebook’s standard desktop path is:
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- Select the post-options menu in the upper-right corner.
- Select Edit post.
- Change the text or other supported details.
- Select Save.
See Facebook’s current guidance for editing a post.
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What you can change
Depending on the post and account, editing may let you change the text, add or remove tags, add a check-in, or change supported photos and videos. A text-only post may show Add to your post. If the post already contains media, Facebook may let you add more photos or videos while editing.
In many cases, you can remove an individual photo from a multi-photo post without deleting the entire post. This is not guaranteed for every post: posts shared from third-party apps and posts originating from photo albums can have different media-editing restrictions.
Editing changes the existing post rather than creating a new publication. It does not automatically change the post’s audience or privacy setting. If your goal is to control who can see it, use the post’s audience selector instead of treating editing as a privacy change.
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- Open Facebook and go to your profile.
- Find the post, or open it from your activity.
- Tap the post’s three-dot or options button.
- Choose Edit post.
- Make the changes and save them.
Meta supports iPhone, iPad, Android, Facebook Lite, and mobile-browser versions, but the wording and position of controls can vary. Look for the functional equivalent of the post-options menu rather than relying on an identical screen.
If “Edit post” is missing
- You may be viewing somebody else’s post.
- The post may belong to a Page or group where you do not have the required access.
- It may be a story, shared post, tagged post, event activity, or another content type with different controls.
- It may be easier to find through Activity Log under a different category or date.
For a post shared by somebody else, you cannot edit the original. You may be able to remove your tag, hide it from your profile, ask the original poster to change it, or report it if it violates Facebook’s rules.
How to delete a Facebook post
Delete a post from your personal profile
- Open your profile and find the post.
- Open the post-options menu.
- Choose Delete post or Move to Trash, depending on the control shown.
- Confirm the action.
Facebook’s profile-post guidance distinguishes removing content from hiding it. Some interfaces send a deleted item to Trash first; others may offer permanent deletion separately.
Delete versus Trash
Delete is the permanent-removal choice in the normal Facebook workflow. A post deleted permanently cannot normally be restored.
Move to Trash makes the content visible only to you while it remains there. Facebook says content in Trash is automatically deleted after 30 days unless you restore it or delete it sooner. Once Facebook automatically removes it after that period, it cannot be restored through the normal recovery process. If recovery might matter, use Trash rather than permanent deletion and act before the deadline.
Deleting your post is also different from removing a tag. Removing your tag can remove the post from your profile, but it does not delete the original post or necessarily remove it from the people who can see it.
How to hide or archive a post instead
Hide a post from your profile
Choose Hide from profile when you only want the post removed from your profile view. Hiding does not necessarily remove it from Feed, Search, or the place where it was originally shared. It may remain visible to the original audience.
Use this option when the post is no longer appropriate for your profile but you accept that it may still exist elsewhere on Facebook.
Archive a post for private storage
Choose Move to Archive when you want to take the post out of public view without throwing it away. Archived content is visible only to you until you restore it. Unlike Trash, Archive is intended for keeping content privately for later rather than waiting out a deletion period.
Facebook describes these controls and their differences in its Archive and delete content help page.
How to restore an archived or deleted Facebook post
Use Activity Log to restore content from Archive or Trash. On desktop:
- Select your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Choose Settings & Privacy.
- Choose Activity Log.
- In the left-side menu, open Archive and then Post Archive, or open Trash.
- Find the post and open its options menu.
- Choose Restore to profile and confirm.
On the Facebook app, open your profile, find Activity Log from the profile menu, then open Archive or Trash, select the post, and choose the restore command. The label may be Recycle bin instead of Trash.
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Facebook says restored content returns to its original posting location and generally keeps the audience selected before it was archived or moved to Trash. Restoring is not the same as reposting: it should not create a new post with a new publication date.
Restore before Trash expires
A post in Trash normally has a 30-day retention period. Check the Trash or Recycle bin promptly if you may want the post back. A post automatically deleted after that period is not normally recoverable through Facebook’s standard tools.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to find a Facebook post you cannot locate
If the post is not visible on your profile, work through this order:
- Check the profile’s posts section.
- Open Activity Log.
- Filter by an approximate date.
- Filter by the relevant activity type, such as posts, photos, or videos.
- Check Archive.
- Check Trash or Recycle bin.
- Confirm whether you posted it to a Page or group rather than your personal profile.
Activity Log can expose different actions depending on the content type. If you still cannot find the item, it may have been removed by a group administrator, Page manager, Facebook enforcement action, or the original owner; the available controls depend on what happened and on your permissions.
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Facebook’s Activity Log instructions explain the available filters and actions.
Bulk-manage posts on mobile
Meta’s Manage Activity feature supports selecting multiple pieces of content in the Android, iPhone, and Facebook Lite apps. It may not be available through the desktop version. Use it when you need to review or move several items instead of opening posts one by one.
Facebook Page posts
Page posts are separate from personal-profile posts. You need the appropriate Facebook access or task access to remove them. With Facebook access:
- Log in to Facebook.
- Select your profile photo.
- Choose See all profiles.
- Switch into the Page.
- Open the Page post’s options menu.
- Choose Move to recycle bin and confirm.
People with task access may need to manage Page posts through Meta Business Suite. A hidden Page post may still be visible to people with Page access and may remain visible in other places where it was shared. See Facebook’s Page-post removal guidance.
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Facebook group posts
To delete your own group post, Facebook provides this Activity Log route:
- Open your profile and select Activity Log.
- Choose Your Facebook activity.
- Open Groups.
- Choose Group posts and comments.
- Find the post and use its options menu to delete it.
These steps concern your own activity. You cannot ordinarily edit or delete another member’s post just because you are a group member. Group administrators and moderators have separate moderation powers. Facebook also provides a way to delete all content you shared in a group at once, although restrictions can apply if you have been blocked from the group or the group is hidden. See the group-post deletion instructions.
Why Facebook may not show Edit, Delete, Archive, or Restore
- Ownership: You cannot edit another person’s post.
- Permissions: Page and group content may require Page access, task access, or moderator permissions.
- Content type: Stories, shared posts, tagged posts, album content, and other activity types may use different controls.
- Location: A post may be listed in Activity Log rather than on your profile.
- Device or interface: Labels and layouts can differ by device, language, account, and Facebook rollout.
- Expired recovery period: A Trash item may no longer be restorable after Facebook’s 30-day retention period.
Special case: content restored after an app or website is disabled
Meta documents a separate case involving posts created through an app or website using Facebook Login. If that app or website is removed or disabled, related content may be hidden and later restored. Meta says such posts can reappear on the timeline at their original publication date and may use a restrictive audience setting, sometimes Only Me. This is different from restoring an ordinary post from Archive or Trash. More detail is available in Meta’s guidance on restored content.
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